The Sacramento Kings clinched an NBA playoff berth for the first time in 16 years on Wednesday night, and that gave the Jets a dubious distinction. The Jets now have the longest playoff drought among any NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL team. The last time the Jets made the playoffs was in 2010, when head coach Rex Ryan, quarterback Mark Sanchez and cornerback Darrelle Revis led them to an 11-5 record, good for second in the NFC East. The Jets made it to the AFC Championship Game that year, losing to the Steelers. Since that season, the Jets have missed the playoffs 12 times in 12 years, and they’ve finished last in the AFC East in six of the last seven seasons. The Jets may soon have company, as the Buffalo Sabres have missed the NHL playoffs 11 years in a row and are in danger of missing it this season as well. After the Jets and the Sabres, it’s a six-way tie for the third-longest playoff drought among teams that have missed the playoffs seven years in a row: The Broncos, NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers.
I haven't watched basketball in so long that I didn't know the Kings were bad, lol. They were a good team the last time I paid any attention. As far as the Jets go, we don't have a lot of room to throw stones. The Fins are currently in the midst of the third longest AFC Championship Game appearance drought ever, behind the Browns (33 years/29 seasons, current) and the Bengals (32 seasons). The Jets, by comparison, have never gone more than 14 years between appearances, and have been to three since we last did.
Maybe you missed this part: The Jets now have the longest playoff drought among any NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL team.
I noted it. Its actually not that long, by historical standards. An interesting quirk of various teams making the post season fairly recently who hadn't in a long while before that. The Bills and Browns both went 17 seasons not that long ago, for example. The Cardinals made it just once in a 25-year span from the early 80s to mid 2000s. In baseball, my Cubs once went 38 years without making the post season.
In a very deep AFC, they face really long odds. You could easily argue that they're no better than being in the mix as the 10th best team in the conference.
